I am a senior applying to colleges currently, and I have heard a lot about JHU’s toxic academic culture where people routinely pull all-nighters and study 24/7. I know many people from my high school who got into hopkins but chose to go to duke, other ivies and T20’s because of hopkins toxic culture. Can someone who knows about hopkins or went there discuss their experience with the academic culture, both within Biomedical Engineering and for other majors?
I guess this is exaggerated because there are more graduate students than undergrads in JHU so it seems everybody studies so hard.
I can’t say much because I am only a JHU’s summer school student and have no idea about undergrad life. But I found the gym very cool and there’s a lot to do near the campus and in downtown Baltimore. I think the environment in JHU isn’t really that scary, and I just applied my ED there.
Btw, I heard Chainsmokers had a concert in JHU Spring Fair last year. That’s lit
@nitroBenzene Nice! Yea Im applying to JHU RD, but Im not sure if Id go even if I got in cuz of both money and the culture, but thats a decision thats 6 months away. Good luck!
One of my sons is a freshman in the BME program. It’s definitely a rigorous program, and the kids study a lot, but I think that is also a function of who chooses to go there. Like many other students at Hopkins, many of the BME students participate in design teams or do research for credit or pay, in addition to their course load, and whatever extracurricular activities they choose to pursue. How much time you have for things other than studying and other academic pursuits really depends on your personality and the course load you choose to take. My son decided to take AP credits for a number of classes, so he is a bit busy…
Also, since a decent number of kids are premed (I think the stat that they quote for BME is 1/3), there are many students who feel the additional pressure of how med schools will view their grades, and that is reflected in how much they study.
Just my thoughts based upon my son’s experiences. Others may see things differently.
Good luck with your applications
I mean to be frank, it’s not toxic or that crazy. I graduated from there recently in engineering and was amongst the top of my class (went to MIT for grad school on a full fellowship) and still had ample time for parties and for going out. So did many of my BME and pre-med friends in terms of having fun and staying out of the library. Just make sure you don’t procrastinate and take advantage of study groups and office hours. Studying smart >>> amount of hours in the library. Your friend circle will determine your college experience more so than the school atmosphere by far. If you hang around social friends that study smart, you will too. If you choose to be surrounded by grinders - guess what you will become.
From my experience, the majority of students at Hopkins are not grinding 24/7 studying or anything close to that - and if you’re like that, you should be looking at a place like Caltech not Hopkins. Instead, they are collaborative and help each other out on tough assignments and test prep. Why study alone and hope to break the curve when you can bounce ideas off of others and explore subject areas of weakness together to both do well - that was the prevailing ethos during my time at Hopkins.
Needless to say, plenty of people at Hopkins chose it over other Duke and other top 20 schools. The whole toxic culture thing is overblown. Go visit some time and don’t take hearsay from other high schoolers.
What might be perceived as a “toxic” culture to some is a stimulating culture to others. Don’t choose a college based on the fear that you may have to pull an all nighter or hearsay. Choose based on what your goals are and whether or not you think you will enjoy the challenge. There’s a huge range of available schools out there.
OP- Do you live close enough to JHU to sit in on some classes? My daughter did that and was happily surprised to see the collaboration amongst students and profs. She felt that it was actually quite relaxed and she was there a few days before exams. (She sat in on a sophomore chem e course).
@momofsenior1 Sadly, I live about 4 hours away from JHU (plane ride). However, your comment and others have helped me see that JHU isn’t as toxic as people say, so I will apply there. Thanks!
This thread concerns me as JHU is my daughter’s top pick. We visited during the summer, perhaps we’ll need to make plans to visit when school’s in session before she confirms her decision to ED there next year.
Is there any college anywhere where some of the strongest students do not sometimes pull all-nighters and have days when they are overwhelmed by how much work they need to do?
It comes with the package. You do it in high school. Then you do it in college. Then you do it in your career. If you are a driven person, that is how you live!
@stevensPR provides a good example above of how, within any college, there will be a range of personalities and studying styles.
@Darcy123 I think it’s a great idea to visit any school when it’s in session, especially if it’s your ED choice. I know my oldest daughter loved the visits to see the people, how they interacted, etc., basically to see if she could picture herself among them. It was very helpful to her.
Everyone chill out. This question gets asked like 50 times every year and every year current students comment about how the culture at Hopkins is literally the opposite of that
Current student. Not toxic in the slightest. I don’t personally know anyone in the school who thinks it’s toxic, either.
@gandolf99 What are your thoughts on this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldmg-30Feqo
@yaleivyleague These are all freshman who were probably selectively culled. Go on campus and see how many people like it. If it was truly toxic, 35% of alumni wouldn’t be donating back to Hopkins (amongst the top 5 rates in the country). I’ve visited for recent reunions and the majority of students I spoke to there are (still) having a blast.
And note that one alum giving back is Michael Bloomberg, who is donating $1.8B in addition to the prior $1.5B he has already donated to JHU.
^ Probably unwise to make decisions based on extreme outliers like Bloomberg.
The fact that a significant fraction of alums choose to donate is much more compelling IMO
They found few freshmen who think college is a lot of work. I can do that at any college.